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I know there have been many threads on opening bank a/c etc. I along with many others (I imagine) are perhaps looking to lock away the 800k in Thai bank and basically leave it. I'm going down this path because don't wish to concern myself with 3 months after extension and the 400k minimum after that etc. I'm having more trouble than I thought in opening a fixed term account. I have been to my existing bank where I have a savings ac. Zero interest. Opened 7 yrs ago on a tourist visa. Needed the ac to obtain the non-o. They kept asking how I opened ac without work permit. I left. Went to bangkok bank and asked what I needed. They were talking about something from au embassy but couldn't or didn't know what. So, has anyone successfully done this recently. Also as added question is it possible to use Citibank. BTW I live in bkk. Thanks in advance.

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I think you have a much better chance of opening a fixed-term acct. at a branch where you have a savings acct. than at a branch where you do not. It takes their little brains much longer than it takes yours or mine to process the same information, and here I am referring to matters in general, not something involving a language barrier. I think if you had waited a bit longer at your existing bank, you would have got it.

Go back and try again. Wear the best clothes and shoes you have, so you don't look like some here-today, gone-tomorrow tourist.If anyone asks why you left the previous time, tell them that you didn't have time. Give them time to come to terms with the fact that you somehow managed to open your existing account while on a tourist visa. If someone there made a mistake seven years ago, that is not grounds to deny you now. They now presumably have seven years of evidence that you are not a foreign criminal.

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I think you have a much better chance of opening a fixed-term acct. at a branch where you have a savings acct. than at a branch where you do not. It takes their little brains much longer than it takes yours or mine to process the same information, and here I am referring to matters in general, not something involving a language barrier. I think if you had waited a bit longer at your existing bank, you would have got it.

Go back and try again. Wear the best clothes and shoes you have, so you don't look like some here-today, gone-tomorrow tourist.If anyone asks why you left the previous time, tell them that you didn't have time. Give them time to come to terms with the fact that you somehow managed to open your existing account while on a tourist visa. If someone there made a mistake seven years ago, that is not grounds to deny you now. They now presumably have seven years of evidence that you are not a foreign criminal.

Unfortunately it isn't. I just went through the same fiasco with KBank here in Jomtien. I got my funds wired in on May 7th. I went to Kbank the next day and was told i have to have some sort of Residence type form needed in order to open a new account even though I have had an account there for over 6 years. The CS rep informed me that I would need to go to Immigration to request such form, but there could be a possibility that Immg. would just refer me back to their bank for which they don't posses the form and that I should then try Bangkok bank as they should be in possession of the form. So I've just thrown my hands up in frustration. My RV visa expires 7/23 and with the 2 month seasoning cycle needed prior to the visa, I didn't want to jeopardize my status. So now I am begrudgingly carrying close to 1 million baht in my regular savings account hoping I can fix this after the 3 months needed after after acquiring my RV. FWIW, the CS rep was very apologetic and said her hands are tied because of thai gov. regulations dealing with the opening of new accounts.

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Unfortunately it isn't. I just went through the same fiasco with KBank here in Jomtien. I got my funds wired in on May 7th. I went to Kbank the next day and was told i have to have some sort of Residence type form needed in order to open a new account even though I have had an account there for over 6 years. The CS rep informed me that I would need to go to Immigration to request such form, but there could be a possibility that Immg. would just refer me back to their bank for which they don't posses the form and that I should then try Bangkok bank as they should be in possession of the form. So I've just thrown my hands up in frustration. My RV visa expires 7/23 and with the 2 month seasoning cycle needed prior to the visa, I didn't want to jeopardize my status. So now I am begrudgingly carrying close to 1 million baht in my regular savings account hoping I can fix this after the 3 months needed after after acquiring my RV. FWIW, the CS rep was very apologetic and said her hands are tied because of thai gov. regulations dealing with the opening of new accounts.

Kasikorn Pattaya are more inflexible these days but a Residence Certificate is easy to get at Jomtien immigration, loads of threads on it. I got one recently 300 baht.

I have a Kasikorn account but use for every day spending only. Extra cash gets moved to another bank

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Kasikorn Pattaya are more inflexible these days but a Residence Certificate is easy to get at Jomtien immigration, loads of threads on it. I got one recently 300 baht.

I have a Kasikorn account but use for every day spending only. Extra cash gets moved to another bank

Agreed. I guess I wasn't entirely sure that's exactly what they wanted as I was getting frustrated sitting there. Also I didn't mention that she told me that the transaction would not happen instantaneously and that it would take a few days, be that because of the new account or the transaction itself I can't really remember. Anyways my plan is to go apply for the RV on July 10 just in case something else arises which would give me ample time to rectify it. I guess it's something for other's to be aware of when contemplating their Visa 800K deposits.

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Kasikorn Pattaya are more inflexible these days but a Residence Certificate is easy to get at Jomtien immigration, loads of threads on it. I got one recently 300 baht.

I have a Kasikorn account but use for every day spending only. Extra cash gets moved to another bank

That's another problem for people that use CW. On the good side CW do not require a tm30 for extensions based on retirement. However if you attend for other matters such as residence certificate they do. In the past you could obtain RC at AU embassy. Guess what, they stopped providing them. I will go to head office of my bank near soi 4 and try and find out exactly what is required. Don't like my chances.

Edited May 14 by DrJack54Error

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The laws here about bank accounts don't actually jive with the immigration laws and different banks interpret them differently. SCB (purple) will not let me have an account without having a work permit, nor will the Government Savings Bank (pink). I have accounts at 3 other banks...one gave me a credit card, another will only give me a debit card, and the other one insists that I appear in person to get money out. Give figure.

With regard to the 800K, my understanding from talking to my local immigration people is that the money has to be accessible immediately so they will not accept anything but a savings account.

The banks I have do pay interest on savings accounts, it is not much but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick and because it is under 150K they don't take out any tax.

Edited May 14 by Pedrogazforgot something

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I have Fixed Term deposits at Bangkok Bank. My "visa" account is a 1 year term that automatically renews every year and the interest is rolled over (my choice, I could have it deposited into my savings account if I wanted to).

I previously opened accounts (at Bangkok Bank) with just a 30 Day stamp and a Certificate of Residency (from Immigration, though some apparently can get a similar certificate from their Embassies).
It probably helped that I already had a Savings account at the same bank though.

I just went in yesterday to open a Foreign Currency Deposit (FCD) account. Only needed my passport.

Don't go to a teller to open an account. They usually have customer service reps separate from the tellers who handle such matters (and are more aware of the rules). Have your Certificate of Residence, passport and current bank book with you (makes it easier for them to see that you already are a customer and besides, you are probably transferring money from the Savings into the Fixed Term account anyways).

Ask them what their current Fixed Term Rates are. I saw yesterday that BKK had 7, 11 and 12 month terms (1.675% for the 11 month term).
The 12 month term is only 1.5% but you don't have to dick around with going back to open a new account, transfer the money from the old one into the new one then closing the old one because they can't for some weird reason just keep using the same frikken account and renewing the term.
(I used to have some 7 month and some 11 month Fixed Term accounts and it was frikken annoying to have to keep going back and opening/closing accounts every couple of months.)
Now I just use the 12 month, auto-renewing Fixed Term method for my "visa" money.

As many have mentioned, if you have problems with one branch, try another. Larger branches probably have more English speaking staff, while some smaller branches may be more keen on getting your money on their "books" (makes them look more successful). The branch I deal with (in Pattaya) is quite small but most of their staff speak enough English to be able to handle most issues fairly easily.

(Apparently opening a Foreign Currency Deposit account is fairly complicated and requires a large cash deposit. In my case, they wanted $1,300 CAD to open the account ! The amount varies according to the currency used it seems.)

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With regard to the 800K, my understanding from talking to my local immigration people is that the money has to be accessible immediately so they will not accept anything but a savings account.

People on here have often mentioned they have fixed term deposit accounts used for their 800k, it's possible they get over the issue if they can withdraw but they lose interest, maybe someone will confirm?

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I've been using a Fixed Term account for my "visa" money for 8 years now. My dear old (departed) Dad did the same thing for the couple years he was here (until he passed on).

At Jomtien Immigration, they know what a "Fixed Term" account is and that you can access the money almost "immediately" if need be.

For example, when I was opening the FCD mentioned in my previous post, I needed to transfer money from another Fixed Term account into my Savings account first, then use some of that transferred money to meet the deposit requirements of the FCD. (Basically I took money out of a Fixed Term account, converted it to Canadian currency, then deposited it into the FCD account.)

All it took to get the money from the Fixed Term account was the usual 2 signatures on the transfer form and the 2 minutes it took the clerk to do the transfer and update the passbooks.

However, I also have money tied up in "long term investments" with the same bank where my money is "locked in" for a set number of years and they pay me a lump sum of interest every year.

I can not use those investments as my "proof of sufficient funds" because I can't just take money out of them whenever I want. I basically have to close out the investment (and take a financial loss if they haven't reached maturity yet) and it could take days before the remaining money gets to my account.

That is why they won't use those kinds of accounts, or RRSP/401k/Mutual Fund accounts as proof because you can't simply take money out of them whenever you want to buy groceries or pay your electricity bill or whatever.

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People on here have often mentioned they have fixed term deposit accounts used for their 800k, it's possible they get over the issue if they can withdraw but they lose interest, maybe someone will confirm?

Look for a statement in your bankbook to the effect "No interest will be paid on funds withdrawn before the maturity date". That indicates to you, and to Immigration that the funds can be withdrawn at any time. Immigration doesn't care if you lose your interest.

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The laws here about bank accounts don't actually jive with the immigration laws and different banks interpret them differently. SCB (purple) will not let me have an account without having a work permit, nor will the Government Savings Bank (pink). I have accounts at 3 other banks...one gave me a credit card, another will only give me a debit card, and the other one insists that I appear in person to get money out. Give figure.

With regard to the 800K, my understanding from talking to my local immigration people is that the money has to be accessible immediately so they will not accept anything but a savings account.

The banks I have do pay interest on savings accounts, it is not much but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick and because it is under 150K they don't take out any tax.

I renewing my visa the immigration I go to told my wife because of new law go to the bank and put money in a fixed deposit we went bank wife did the talking in minutes the job done

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Look for a statement in your bankbook to the effect "No interest will be paid on funds withdrawn before the maturity date". That indicates to you, and to Immigration that the funds can be withdrawn at any time. Immigration doesn't care if you lose your interest.